Short haircuts to see you into autumn

Autumn is almost here, bringing with it the usual urge to reset, start again and change something. Work, flat, life? We'll leave those alone. Hair is a far easier place to begin. Fancy a new head of hair, a proper change, something with a bit of edge? Go short. Cropped cuts are having a moment, and the best part is the sheer variety on offer. From a mini bob to an asymmetric graduated bob, a rounded crop or a boyish style, there's a short cut for every taste and face shape.

A rounded shape sits at the base of this sharp cut, styled with a few asymmetric pieces and a blunt fringe. We love the volume from the layers and the longer strands around the face, which keep it feminine and polished, at Saint Algue.

There's a subtly retro mood at Saint Algue too, with a 1930s-inspired short cut: layered, lightly jagged and lifted with baby-blonde colour.

And the crop that goes a little wild with a few asymmetric pieces is clearly having a moment, with fresh proof at Camille Albane, where the team has created a short cut with an exposed nape and longer pieces on one side of the face. It's heavily layered to build volume, and lit up with caramel pieces for depth and dimension. On the right, the sleek version: a graduated bob with a longer piece at the front of the face.

Back at the front of the hair scene, the mini baby-doll bob, lightly layered, works wonders. Here it's wavy, piecey and finished with a small fringe just above the brows, again at Camille Albane.

A sleek, fringed mini bob at Dessange brings this slightly retro, thoroughly cute style back into fashion, lifted with baby-blonde colour.

Short but not too short: this heavily layered mid-length bob has a side parting and a thick sweep over the forehead to give it structure and style. Dessange.

A more everyday take on the lightly jagged retro crop: soft waves and a side-swept piece over a very feminine layered bob.

A heavily layered bob with a thick fringe and glossy brunette colour.

We finish with a very worked short cut: a short nape, a sweep over the forehead, movement and golden-blonde colour - a very short style that still manages to be devilishly feminine.

And because we think they're excellent, we're adding two styles spotted on the red carpet: both have a short nape and long pieces at the front; one is neatly sleeked and ultra-glossy, the other has tapered, tousled, coloured strands for a more boyish, rock attitude.

The French salon chains referenced here are Saint Algue, Camille Albane, Dessange and Franck Provost. Need more hair inspiration? Read our braid styles and tutorials, plus ideas for long hair.

What it costs

In the UK, a short cut at a chain or neighbourhood salon usually sits somewhere around £35–£70, and can quickly climb past £100 at a sought-after independent, depending on the city and neighbourhood. A deep-conditioning treatment added at the basin often costs £10–£20 more. What pushes the bill up: how much work the cut takes - scissor layering, thinning - your starting length and the time spent on the final finish. Because a short cut grows out faster than longer hair, expect regular trims; how often depends on your cut and your hair growth.